William Kirby and Copyright: The Publication History of The Golden Dog

Annals of Niagara / by William Kirby ; edited with introduction and notes by Lorne Pierce

Despite the immense popularity of his novel, The Chien d’or / The Golden Dog: A Legend of Quebec, William Kirby lost the royalties and received almost none of the profit this book garnered. This article focuses on copyright issues that surrounded publication of The Golden Dog and how this resulted in the novel’s piracy.

William Kirby (1817-1906) was an author of both poetry and prose. He was also the editor of the Niagara Mail newspaper, in what is now Niagara-on-the-Lake, and later a public servant. Born in England, in 1832 he immigrated with his parents to Canada, where he would spend the rest of his life. His most widely known novel, The Golden Dog, took fifteen years to write, was completed in 1873, and was first published in 1877 by Lovell, Adam, Wesson and Company of New York and Montreal. It was inspired by two stories from Quebec author J.M. LeMoine’s collection, Maple Leaves: “Le Chien d’or” and “Château Bigot.” Despite a number of typographical errors in the first edition, The Golden Dog was very well received and earned compliments from Alfred Lord Tennyson. According to a conversation Kirby had with Princess Louise, Queen Victoria also enjoyed the novel.

However, Kirby lost the royalties to The Golden Dog because his publisher – either intentionally or in error – did not properly register the novel. Copyright laws of the time required that Canadian residents register and publish their books first in Canada in order to secure copyright protection. In what George L. Parker has called a “curious and sad twist of fate,” Lovell, Adam, Wesson and Company neglected to register The Golden Dog in Canada, which opened the door for other publishers to issue the book without acknowledging Kirby’s rights. When Lovell, Adam, Wesson encountered financial difficulties, the plates for The Golden Dog were put on the market, the book was re-issued in 1878 by New York publisher Richard Worthington, and it became impossible for Kirby to collect any royalties whatsoever. In 1885, Kirby was finally able to secure some rights by copyrighting a French translation of the book by Pamphile Le May (Le chien d’or : légende canadienne. Montreal: Imprimérie de L’Étendard. Mary Jane Edwards notes that although the title page is dated 1884, the book was issued in 1885). Pirated English versions of the novel became widely available, however, and this translation did not sell well.

Kirby’s trouble with publishers did not end with Lovell. In 1897, L.C. Page of Boston approached Kirby, offering to print an authorized edition. Kirby was pleased with this arrangement until Page requested that he reduce the book’s size from its original 678 printed pages to 500. Unable to find a way to abridge the novel while remaining faithful to his work, Kirby refused. In spite of Kirby’s wish to the contrary, Page had the book condensed. In order to obtain authorization from Kirby, Page told Kirby that he would stay true to the original, and that the only changes would be the corrections that Kirby desired. Kirby did not discover this deception until two months after publication of this “authorized” edition, and even then the publisher was reluctant to pay the agreed-upon royalties.

Kirby apparently earned less than $100 in royalties for the book during his lifetime (although later documents put the figure at $200), and only after persistent requests to Page for compensation. After Kirby’s death in 1906, the publisher ceased all payment, and Kirby’s descendants received nothing more. The Golden Dog went on to be published numerous times by firms such as Macmillan of Canada (1932), and in McClelland & Stewart's New Canadian Library Series (1969).

Archival Resources

I was curious about the two copies I own - both from 1897. They were limited to 100 copies. I have #76 and #16. The 8 plates were individually painted. It is great to see the two plates side by side as they were certainly painted differently. I was told that these were the 100 numbered and painted true first editions (after the unauthorised) editions - painted by CW Jeffries. They are bound in a lovely 3/4 leather, marble end pages, gold guilt on the outside pages, 5 raised bands on the spines, a lovely/extravagant binding. Anyways, have you seen a copy like this before? It would be great to try and locate the other 98 copies and record where they exist - if they still do!
Thanks for your time.

Dear Wayne,
Thanks for your comment. We do not have a 1897 edition of this book in our library. The scanned image above is from a copy at Queen's University Library, who partnered with us on this website.

You have not provided us with the imprint of your copies: there was a Canadian edition published by Musson in 1897, as was the Boston edition. I suggest that you look at this recently released bibliography of William Kirby;s The Golden Dog by Thomas B. Vincent (2009)http://www.worldcat.org/title/william-kirby-the-golden-dog-a-bibliograph...
Perhaps you'll find other copies listed on Worldcat. I don't know how many extant copies there are.

As to the art work, you could look at the C.W, Jeffery's archive at the E.P. Taylor Research Libary and Archives at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. There is considerable art and illustration in the archive and you might be able to not stylistic periods in Jeffery's art.

Thanks for the response. I have many copies from 1897. The one I'm writing about has 2 publishers: Musson and Montreal Pub. Co. As I said, it is #17 of 100 copies and the nicest copy I have seen. As I said, the 8 plates were individually painted. Do you have such a numbered copy in existance? I will try worldcat and thanks for the link. If I could post some photos, I think people would really be amazed at this rare piece of Canadian literary history.

Dear Wayne,
As I said in my previous email, we do not have a copy of the 1897 edition. I have suggested that you look at bibliographical details in the Vincent book for which I have given you the link. It is difficult to know how many copies were printed and how many are surviving. You may be able to find other copies by searching in Worldcat. You can also search in ABE Books http://www.abebooks.com